Clearing out for August

I haven't wrapped up June yet, how can I be thinking about August...

As the school year comes to a close, I've been reflecting on everything I've accomplished over the past year. One of the final projects on my to-do list is creating an impact report, capturing the work, conversations, and growth from my first year as an Educational Technology and Innovation Coach. Putting that report together got me thinking less about what I'd done this year and more about how I wanted to start the next one.

One of the biggest lessons from my first year was that good intentions aren't the same as good systems.

This time of year, it's easy to focus on wrapping everything up. Packing away resources, closing projects, and looking forward to a well-earned break. But I also wanted to make sure I was setting myself up for success in August. Teachers often return in August and want to revise or refresh things from the previous year (Read Edutopia's Keep, Eliminate, Adapt for more). Reading about that process made me wonder why I was waiting until September to think about it. Right now, the year is still fresh in my mind. I know what worked, what didn't, and where my systems created unnecessary work.

Writing my impact report also reminded me of something Elena Aguilar shares in End-of-Year Reports: An Essential Part of Coaching. Looking back isn't just about celebrating successes. It's about making your work visible, identifying patterns, and using those insights to improve your practice.

At the start of the year, I tracked almost everything in one giant running document. It worked... until it didn't. By the end of the year, it was difficult to see patterns. Who had I worked with? How much time was spent coaching compared with troubleshooting technology? Which conversations led to follow-up? The information was there, but finding it took more effort than it should have.

One of the projects I completed through The Coach program with Eduro Learning was designing a coaching dashboard to better organize and track my work.

I came to it later than I would have liked, but it completely changed how I think about documenting coaching. Instead of one long document, I now have a dashboard that helps me track coaching interactions, organize notes, identify themes, and better understand where my time is going.

What's one system you're putting in place before you leave for summer?

For me, it's making sure my coaching dashboard is ready for August. So before I sign off for the summer, I am clearing out my coaching dashboard, creating a fresh version for next year, and making sure it is ready to go. It's a small task now that will save time later and let me start the year focused on supporting teachers instead of rebuilding my organizational system. My future self will be thankful.